TCTMD’s Top 10 Most Popular Stories for January 2021

TCTMD’s Daily Dispatch, summing up COVID-19 research and policy news, was our most-clicked story in January. We’ve changed the format to make it slightly easier to archive—who knew the pandemic would require this level of coverage for so long. Don’t forget to bookmark it. Like many months last year, a mix of COVID-19 as well as cardiology-related content made up our top 10 list for the first month of 2021.

1. COVID-19: TCTMD’s Daily Dispatch

For 11 months we’ve been curating a list of COVID-19 research and other useful content, and updating it daily.

2. Vitamin D, Calcium, Other Vitamins, and Supplements Do Not Prevent CVD

In fact, there is a signal of harm with calcium use, and experts say this supplement should be used sparingly, if at all.

3. TAVR Yields Similar Success in Failed TAVR or Surgical Valves

But as the patient population shifts younger, strategies for “lifetime management” will be required, experts say.

4.FEATURE Cardiac Care Feels Staffing Crunch as Big Money Converts COVID-19 Travelers

Nurses and techs are quitting permanent jobs for lucrative traveling contracts, leaving hospitals and cath labs scrambling.

5. True Myocarditis Uncommon in COVID-19, Review Concludes

A roundup of published autopsy data and a comparison of tissue samples provide some reassurance for clinicians.

6. Microvascular Thrombi Common in Patients Dying of COVID-19

Like others before, two new studies suggest that myocarditis is rare but microclots are not, supporting a role for anticoagulation.

7. TAVI vs Minimally Invasive AVR Yields Surprising Findings: Meta-analysis

TAVI is typically compared with “classic SAVR,” so an RCT against minimally invasive SAVR would be welcome, if unlikely.

8. ACE Inhibitors, ARBs: Still No Link to COVID-19 Risks, New Analyses Show

Researchers note that there are a number of ongoing randomized trials, but to date, the evidence supports benefit, not harm.

9. One in Four US Physicians Report Personal Attacks on Social Media

Women face the additional burden of sexual harassment, with one in six subjected to inappropriate and explicit messages.

10. Unplanned PCI Rare After TAVI, but Operators Get Good Results

In the first 2 years, PCI was mainly for ACS, but chronic disease with symptoms or ischemia was the leading indication thereafter.